1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to trailers and, more particularly, is concerned with a trailer having a drive mechanism placed on the tongue thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices for loading boats and driving trailers have been described in the prior art; however, none of the prior art devices disclose the unique features of the present.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,590, dated Dec. 14, 1982, Crate disclosed a boat which is supported on a wheeled trailer frame by idler rollers and by powered rollers, of a self-adjusting type, located adjacent the rear end of the trailer frame from which the boar is loaded or unloaded. The powered rollers are driven by drive motors through self-locking gears to effect loading or unloading. The boat is held in a transport position on the trailer frame by the powered rollers through the self-locking gearing when the drive motors are de-energized.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,513, dated Jul. 8, 1980, Hosie disclosed a releasable pulley device that can be readily attached to the center rear of a boat trailer and through which the tow-in line for a boat is threaded. As the boat is winched in to the rear of the trailer, an alignment of the prow with the center rear of the trailer is effected. The pulley device is released from its seating and rides free on the line as the boat is fully winched on to the trailer. This enables the dry loading of a boat from rough water as a one-man operation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,382,898 B2, dated May 7, 2002, Mason disclosed an apparatus for loading and retaining for transport, an article, such as a boat, onto a vehicle, particularly a pickup truck. The apparatus comprises a pivoting rear frame member and a forward supporting frame member attached to the truck. The rear frame member has a laterally spaced pair of arms which are pivotally attached to the vehicle, such as onto the trailer hitch of the vehicle, and an upper interconnecting portion for supporting a rear portion of the boat. The rear frame member raises the boat as it is pivoted from a near horizontal position to a vertical position, by suitable means such as a winch.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,865, dated Dec. 4, 1990, Capps disclosed an improved boat trailer winch mechanism that involves an adjustable triangular assembly comprising a first and second vertical support means attached to each other at the apex and to the tongue of a boat trailer forming the base. Extending rearwardly from the adjustable triangular assembly is a novel bow engaging mechanism capable of pivoting and adjusting such as to make contact on both sides of a boat hull. Cantilevered upward and forward from the triangular assembly is a third support member and manual winch with strap and hook closure. Preferably, the strap is directed downward to the tongue and selectively to the proper height through the rear structural member to the triangular assembly such as to insure proper tension when loading or transporting a boat on the boat trailer. Such a boat trailer winch allows the loading of a small pleasure craft onto a boat trailer without leaving the boat and risking getting wet in less time than previously known boat winches.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,770, dated Jan. 20, 1987, Swadell disclosed a lifting-type boat trailer which collapses to a substantially flat position to allow the trailer to be driven between the pontoons of a pontoon boat with its pontoons sitting on the ground. A winch fixed to the front of the trailer applies force via a cable both to the front end of the trailer through a pulley attachment and also to the rear end of the trailer through a bell crank mechanism whose effective working lever arm varies from a maximum at the collapsed position of the trailer to a minimum at the fully raised position, whereby lifting forces applied to the trailer are self-equaling so that the maximum lifting forces are always applied to those points of the trailer which are subjected to the heaviest weight load. The maximum lifting force is automatically transferred from the rear to the front of the trailer as the trailer is raised. The cable is attached to the bell crank mechanism through a dual diameter drum and shaft assembly which provides further force-multiplication or mechanical advantage at the rear of the trailer.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,535, dated Apr. 1, 1975, Killer disclosed a device securable to the frame of the vehicle and is fully adjustable as to size. It includes a hinged boat platform, which can be held level with the top of the boat for ease in securing the boat thereof to the platform by the gunwales of the boat, and includes means to secure the outboard motor also. Winch means are provided to elevate the attached boat onto the top of the vehicle and to lower same to the ground when it is desired to unload the boat from the vehicle.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,970,203, dated Jul. 20, 1976, Watson, Jr., disclosed a low-slung boat trailer which is provided with a swinging back gate and swinging crossbeam above the boat when loaded on the trailer so that a camper trailer may be loaded above the boat by an electric winch, and the boat trailer still used for launching and retrieving a boat.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,584,753, dated Jun. 15, 1971, Voeller disclosed a wheeled trailer body having a bed provided with upstanding longitudinal side fenders, whose top walls are apertured to receive either the bottom ends of the side stakes of a rectangular enclosure or depending lugs on the ends of a plurality of boat-supporting transverse brackets, so that the body can be adapted for use either as a cargo trailer or as a boat trailer. The trailer body has a hitch tongue for attachment to a motor vehicle. A winch assembly can be mounted on the hitch tongue when the body is used as a boat trailer.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,910, dated Oct. 5, 1993, Ball disclosed a horizontal generally rectangular frame structure constructed from aluminum, or iron, longitudinal and transverse beams mounted on the interior surface of a pick-up truck. The frame structure having one or more pairs of longitudinal boat support members, or channels, mounted on the top surface. The channels having a top cover of a low coefficient of friction plastic material are spaced to accommodate the keel structure of a jet-ski. Auxiliary pairs of channels are removably connected to the rear ends of the truck-mounted channels extending downwardly to the ground surface. An electric powered winch mounted on a vertical support on the forward portion of the frame structure accommodates a cable that is removably attached to the bow of the jet-ski. The jet-ski with its bow placed on the channels and connected to the winch cable is pulled up onto the truck body when the winch motor is energized.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,821, dated Feb. 22, 1994, Godbersen disclosed a boat hoist having a platform for raising and lowering a boat by a normally manually rotated circular lift wheel, winch, and cable arrangement, an electrically powered drive motor assembly mounted adjacent the lift wheel and including a drive wheel biased between a position of non-engagement with the lift wheel, and a position of engagement therewith for rotation of the lift wheel, power for the drive motor provided by the DC power source win the boat being moved or by a shore supplied AC power source.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,462, dated Mar. 11, 1997, Reimer disclosed a boat loader and carrier for mounting on a motor vehicle such as a pick-up truck, comprising an upper frame for supporting the boat, having forward and rearward ends and transversely spaced legs whose proximate ends are attached to the upper frame, said legs extending downwardly from the transversely spaced side edges of the rearward end of the frame, the distal ends of the legs pivotally attachable to a lower frame clamped to the pick-up truck so as to allow the upper frame to pivot about the pivotal axes between a generally horizontal carrying position above and substantially parallel with the roof of the pick-up and a loading/unloading position inclined downwardly rearwardly relative to the carrying position; a winch fixed in position forwardly relative to the pivotal axes of the legs when the loader and carrier is mounted on the vehicle, for pulling the boat onto the upper frame and for allowing the boat to be controllably lowered off the upper frame, and a cable connecting the upper and lower frames for limiting the maximum inclination of the upper frame.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,906, dated Oct. 26, 1999, Hrescal, et al., disclosed a motion compensation winch which has a number of opening modes to launch and recover a boat and take into account wave movement. The winch has a cable drum for winding a cable thereon, a secondary gear reduction to rotate the drum, a primary gear reduction between a hydraulic motor shaft and the secondary gear reduction, a rotational sensor to sense direction of cable drum rotation, a load sensor to determine when a tension on the cable is above or below a predetermined value and a secondary clutch to disengage the cable drum and permit the cable drum to rotate freely. The winch has a manual mode for manual operation, and four operational modes to keep the cable taut while a boat rises and fills on waves, a free wheel mode and a recovery mode for recovering a boat that is rising and falling on waves.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,937, dated Aug. 20, 1991, Godbersen disclosed a boat trailer and jack stand winch assembly. The jack stand is mounted onto the frame of the trailer and can folded into a stowed position for traveling.
A device for driving a trailer or a recreational vehicle is being marketed by a company by the name of Power Wheel USA, LLC, 4140 JVL Industrial Park Drive, Unit 207, Marietta, Ga. 30066. This company has a web site address “www.powerwheel-usa.com”. The device is controlled by a handheld remote control unit. Applicant has found no patent which appears to cover this device.
While these trailer loading devices may be suitable for the purposes for which they were designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention, as hereinafter described.